Newly surfaced video footage purportedly depicts the individuals suspected of orchestrating the Louvre heist making their getaway via a mechanical ladder in broad daylight.
The video shows two figures visibly on edge, cautiously descending the ladder moments after the audacious break-in at the renowned Parisian museum, which resulted in the theft of French crown jewels valued at €88 million (£77 million).
The four-member gang remains at large. On Wednesday, Louvre Director Laurence des Cars conceded that security personnel failed to detect the perpetrators promptly due to insufficient camera coverage in the gallery housing the stolen artifacts.
The video captures the ladder-equipped truck parked along a busy thoroughfare bordering the Seine, with vehicular traffic passing by.
Des Cars informed French legislators of the Louvre’s plans to double the number of CCTV cameras both inside and outside the museum.
She acknowledged that the camera focused on the Gallery of Apollo, the room on the south side where the jewels were displayed, was improperly positioned.
Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau told Ouest France newspaper that approximately 150 DNA and fingerprint samples have been collected thus far as part of the ongoing police investigation.
The theft transpired in under eight minutes, commencing at 09:30 local time on Sunday (07:30 GMT), shortly after the Louvre opened to the public.
The thieves made off with eight items, including an emerald necklace and earrings gifted by Napoleon Bonaparte to his second wife, Marie-Louise, on their wedding day.
During their escape, the perpetrators dropped a 19th-century diamond-encrusted crown belonging to Empress Eugenie.
While the crown was recovered, it sustained damage, which des Cars attributed to it likely being crushed as the thieves forcibly removed it from its display case.